Voting Begins For State Small-Business Owners

Date: November 17, 2013

CHEYENNE, Wyo., Nov. 19, 2013—Wyoming members of America’s largest small-business association began voting their annual state ballot last week, the results of which will shape the lobbying agenda in the Wyoming Legislature when it returns for business next year.

Every year, the National Federation of Independent Business asks its members for their opinions on state and national issues in two separate ballots. Results from the polls center NFIB’s lobbying positions in Cheyenne and in Washington D.C., and, along with legislative testimony, special fax polls, and visits to small businesses throughout the year, back its claim to be the true Voice of Small Business.

Small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses. They have different difficulties in remaining solvent. This is why since 1943 NFIB has been reminding Congress and legislatures in all 50 states that some of the things they think they’re doing for the good of Main Street, mom-and-pop enterprises are actually harmful, mainly because of the failure to make the distinction between a small and a large enterprise.

The 2014 NFIB Wyoming State Member Ballot asks four questions:

Should statements of consideration pertaining to the sale of property be a matter of public record?

Should the Legislature introduce legislation to increase penalties to employers when an employee is misclassified as an independent contractor?

Should employers be prohibited from considering an applicant’s criminal history until after the interview process has concluded?

Should the Legislature require a small business impact analysis for each new bill or regulation that could potentially affect small business?

The positions of small business are no small matter. According to the latest report by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, “Small businesses significantly impact Wyoming’s economy. They represent 96.2 percent of all employers and employ 64.8 percent of the private-sector labor force. Small businesses are crucial to the fiscal condition of the state and numbered 62,523 in 2010 … Most of Wyoming’s small businesses are very small as 72.2 percent of all businesses have no employees, and most employers have fewer than 20 employees.”

NFIB, America’s largest small-business association, has 2,000 members in Wyoming. Once a statistically valid sample of responses is reached, NFIB will send out a news release announcing the ballot results. The ballot questions, background information, and pros and cons can be read here.

For additional comment on the ballot or on any issue affecting the health of small business, send an email to NFIB/Wyoming State Director Tony Gagliardi or phone him at 303-325-6243.

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For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America's economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.